Will Congress throw the American economy off a cliff?

The clock is ticking

A person getting tossed.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

America is careening towards an economic cliff. The resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic is clearly beginning to bite the economies of many states, and deeper recessionary forces are taking hold. Eviction moratoriums are set to end in many states at the end of the month, and 28 million people could become homeless in a matter of weeks. Perhaps most importantly, the huge boost to unemployment insurance that Congress passed as part of the CARES Act is going to expire on July 25 — sucking billions of dollars of spending out of the economy, and driving millions more Americans into destitution.

Republicans in Congress, of course, have been dithering and procrastinating. After taking a two-week vacation, it looks extremely unlikely that they will get anything passed before the program expires, and they may not do anything at all. The effect would be to fling America into the economic abyss.

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Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.